This is how 6-figure deals quietly die

I was looking at a deal recently that seemed to have everything going for it.

We had a senior decision-maker involved, agreed on the problem, worked through the solution and even got to the proposal stage.

He was happy with the investment.

Then the deal stopped moving.

A few weeks later, he said they’d have to park it until the next financial year.

Looking back, the problem was pretty simple.

There was only 1 person inside the business helping move it forward.

That’s where I think a lot of salespeople get caught out.

Someone likes what you’re selling, gives you the right information and tells you what needs to happen.

So you assume you’ve found a champion.

But there’s a difference between a coach and a champion.

A coach tells you what’s happening internally.

A champion helps you drive it internally.

So have a look at your biggest deals.

If there’s only 1 contact attached, ask yourself who else needs to be involved and who is actually going to help move the deal forward.

We got into this on the latest episode of Revenue Leaders, including how to map the buying committee earlier and how to spot a real champion.

See how to map your buying committee and find the people who can actually move the deal forward

- David

P.S. There’s a great story in the episode about a champion who helped the sales team navigate the entire internal buying process. It shows the difference pretty clearly.